December 2009

  • Christmas Tree Made of Fish

    By akgoemans on 12/28/09 3:02am
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    A Christmas tree made of sardines? How does that work? Well, it's not quite how you imagine it. There's no dodgy seawater plant towering above everyone, a tree which consists of tiny dangling fish, twisted into awkward shapes. Rather, think of sardines in a huge fish tank that swim around in fancy little formations creating a …. Christmas tree!



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  • McDonalds in Japan

    By akgoemans on 12/21/09 3:02am
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    I was talking to a friend about McDonald's in Japan and we wondered about their menus. After all, McDonald's (and other such franchises) tweak their menus (and premises and wahtnot) according to the taste of the local folks so what could we expect from this quirky Asian nation?



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  • The Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox

    By akgoemans on 12/17/09 3:00am
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    The Aesthetics of the Japanese LunchboxThe Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox

    For a lot of us, the Japanese lunch box can be as much of a mystery as some of the other cultural habits. So much care and detail goes into most of these boxes that you often wonder about any hidden messages or historic significance of the boxes. Well, there's a handy little book that can help you explore this mystery further - The Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox.



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  • Mommy Waitresses, Freudian much?

    By akgoemans on 12/14/09 3:00am
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     Mother CafeMother Cafe

    I suppose the idea of a Mother Cafe is not that weird, not when you have heard of (drum roll) the Herbivore Man. In fact, it seems like the aforementioned cafe has propped up catering especially to these young ones. So what am I going on about? Mother Cafe is a recent development in Japan where the waitresses dress up as 'motherly' figures. 

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  • Keeping Up With Suntory

    By msarko on 12/10/09 6:37pm
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    In watching media from various countries around the world, I've learned that different cultures have their own unique approaches to advertizing and product placement. In America we're rather shameless about thrusting a can of whatever carbonated corn syrup tincture is paying for a show right into the middle of a frame, or even having an otherwise sinister villain give a speech about the wonders of a particular brand of cell phone. The French, being French, just make everything somehow relate to sex and apparently all of South America just can't get enough of bright colors and choreographed dance numbers. And then we get to Japan, the country that has made it its business for the past sixty years to take every aspect of foreign pop culture and amplify it to mockingly absurd levels. Japanese companies don't care if you know what's happening in their commercials or even if you approve of whatever nightmare they're trying to give you, just as long as you remember what product they're ostensibly trying to encourage you to buy.



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  • Robot Exhibition in Tokyo

    By akgoemans on 12/7/09 8:52am
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    There was another robot exhibition in Tokyo recently (well, who's keeping track, it was just the other day that they had the swine flu bot display). It took place at the end of November and it featured a number of strange bots from all over the world. The event took place in Tokyo Big Sight and the expo itself was called International Robot Exhibition.

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  • Fun Japanese Songs and Shows

    By akgoemans on 12/4/09 2:10am
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    Nothing but a fig leaf to their nameNothing but a fig leaf to their name

    We've all heard of the weird and wonderful Japanese shows out there. Variety shows, sketch shows, exceptionally weird game shows. Well, within this list of utterly bizarre shows, you are bound to find a few interesting ones. Take the following for example. I have come across these videos, in one form or another, during the past few months. And when I finally learnt more about this, it was more of a 'I must have more' moment. You know, as opposed to passing around a funny link with a note saying, 'check out another wtf moment of the day'.



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  • Japanese Cops Crossdress to Catch Muggers?

    By akgoemans on 12/3/09 3:19am
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    Pretty eh? I made it myself!Pretty eh? I made it myself!
    What's the first thing that comes to mind when you read this? Apparently police in central Japan are fed up with numerous mugging cases that have propped up all over the city. In these instances, the culprits are targeting young women and appear to be running off with their bags.



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